CLEVELAND (November 18, 2013) – Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) announces that it will invest $1,891,902 in grants in 139 arts and culture organizations in Cuyahoga County next year through its 2014 Project Support grant program. The grant award amounts (see links below) were approved by CAC’s Board of Trustees during its meeting and celebration event Monday afternoon at the Jennings Center for Older Adults.

“Cuyahoga County residents demonstrated extraordinary support for our county’s arts and cultural heritage in 2006 when they approved a dedicated source of public funds for creative activities in our community,” said Sari Feldman, president of CAC’s Board of Trustees. “Cuyahoga Arts & Culture takes our responsibility to invest those dollars in exceptional arts and cultural organizations very seriously. Our goal is to support the regional economy through strategic investment in a vibrant arts community.”

CAC made the grants through its 2014 Project Support grant program, which supports Cuyahoga County-based projects that promote public access and encourage the breadth of arts and cultural programming in our community. In addition to this grant program, CAC also operates a biennial General Operating Support grant program through which it provides substantive, multi-year support to arts and cultural institutions that provide a range of programs that benefit residents throughout Cuyahoga County. The board is expected to approve grants to 57 organizations totaling $13.7 million at its December 9 meeting.

“I want to congratulate each of the organizations Cuyahoga Arts & Culture is funding in 2014, and we look forward to partnering with them in the coming months to benefit the community,” said Karen Gahl-Mills, CAC’s executive director. “On behalf of all county residents, CAC is funding more arts and culture programs for more people in more places than ever before.”

In October 2013, CAC convened panels of independent arts and culture experts from outside Northeast Ohio to evaluate and score each of the applications to the 2014 Project Support grant program.

CAC’s Board of Trustees plans to approve the awards for its 2013-14 General Operating Support grant program at its next meeting on Monday, December 9, at 4 p.m.

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture’s mission is to inspire and strengthen the community by investing in arts and culture. CAC was approved by Cuyahoga County voters in 2006, and since 2007, CAC has invested more than $97 million dollars in 237 local organizations presenting arts and cultural activities in Cuyahoga County. CAC’s vision for its first ten years of public funding for arts and culture is to help build stronger, more resilient organizations, create vibrant and energetic neighborhoods infused with culture, and establish Cuyahoga County as a hub of creative activity and a destination for artists. For more information about CAC, please visit cacgrants.org.